Preface to Volume 17 (2006)

This is the first volume of The Age of Johnson to
be
substantially compiled since the death of the journal's founding
editor, Paul J. Korshin, who died as Volume 16 was nearing
completion. Paul's unexpected and much-lamented death has
prompted a number of changes in the journal, which he and I had
edited together for the previous seven years.

The first, and most visible, change is a new name on the
masthead: J. T. Scanlan of Providence College has agreed to serve
as Book Review Editor. Only once I began trying to take on all of
Paul's editorial responsibilities did I realize just how
extensive they were, and just how ill prepared I was to do the
job unassisted. Scanlan  long a friend of and contributor
to The Age of Johnson  has agreed to carry
some of that burden, and to keep the review section as lively and
incisive as it has been since the journal's founding. Second,
after many years of service on the Editorial Board, Morris R.
Brownell has decided to step down. I am grateful for his
assistance over the years, and wish him all the best.

Despite these changes, I hope that Volume 17 is also marked by
a great deal of continuity with the previous volumes. As usual,
this yearís volume begins with a series of essays devoted to
Johnsonís intellectual life. The first is by Steven D.
Scherwatzky, who revisits a familiar theme  Johnson's
"Augustinianism"  but, unlike most of those who use the
word, he strives for precision in considering the ways in which
Augustine can be said to have influenced Johnson's thought on
empire. Johnson's religious thought is the subject of Matthew M.
Davis's exploration of the "usages controversy," which for the
first time illuminates Johnsonís involvement in an important
eighteenth-century liturgical debate. Mel Kersey turns his
attention to a theme that has attracted growing attention in
recent years, the nature of "Britishness." His essay uses the
prefatory comments in the Dictionary to examine
"Johnson's depiction of England as a provisional entity
overshadowed, and perhaps even overwhelmed, by the British
nation-state." Tim Aurthur and Steven Calt examine the evidence
about Johnson's use of opium over the course of his long and
often disease-ridden life. And Linde Katrizky is the first to
explore the connections between Johnson and the circle around
William Petty, the second Earl of Shelburne, later Lord
Lansdowne. There is also a pair of contrasting essays 
Thomas M. Curley's comprehensive indictment of James Macpherson,
whose involvement in the Ossianic affair prompted one of
Johnson's most famous letters, and Nick Groom's response, which
suggests that "forgery" is a more complicated notion than most
readers have recognized.

As in previous volumes, the word "age" in the journal's title
is at least as important as "Johnson": five of this year's
full-length essays are on topics not directly related to Johnson
or his circle. The first is Charles Haskell Hinnant's article,
which relates some of Daniel Defoe's most important fictions to
the French "pseudo-memoir" tradition. Two more pieces draw on a
great deal of unpublished manuscript evidence: Eve Tavor Bannet
examines some of Sarah Scott's personal and literary
relationships; and John L. Abbott, now at work on The Early
Journals and Letters of Fanny Burney, 178486,
offers an account of an episode in Burney's life. Lance Wilcox
gives a reading of Catholicism in Elizabeth Inchbald's
Simple Story. And Christopher Reid offers looks at
the cultural significance of quotation in the House of Commons, a
rich subject not yet explored in any depth.

Recent volumes of The Age of Johnson have
included a number of omnibus review essays on various
eighteenth-century subjects; the tradition continues in this
volume. Chris P. Pearce offers a long and thoughtful
consideration of a collection of essays on Johnson's
Dictionary; Philip Smallwood gives the same kind of
attention to the new Cambridge History of English
Literature, 16601780. David Hopkins reviews three
collections on John Dryden, prompted by the tercentenary of the
poet's death, and reflects on the direction of Dryden studies in
the new millennium. Richard Wendorf, who contributed an important
essay on Romney studies in Volume 16, offers a thoughtful review
of the recent Reynolds exhibition at Tate Britain. And Kevin
Berland reports on the kinds of research made possible by three
important electronic databases, EEBO, ECCO, and the Archive of
Americana. The volume also sports the usual diverse array of book
reviews, with considerations of sixteen recent titles on
eighteenth-century studies.

I've depended quite a bit on members of the journal's
editorial board this year, and would like thank them for their
contributions. I hope Volume 17 is a worthy successor to the
volumes edited by Paul Korshin. Next year's volume will be a
special number, devoted to Paulís memory.

The Editor gratefully acknowledges the support of the Office
of the Dean, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Rutgers University
 Newark Campus.